Floyd Mayweather Runs Over Shane Mosley

LAS VEGAS-Floyd “Money” Mayweather predicted he would be too fast and too confusing for Sugar Shane Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs) and served right hands with regularity on the Pomona fighter’s headmon Saturday.

Mayweather hit Mosley so many times I got a headache watching.

Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) proved in front of a packed arena at the MGM Grand and an arena full of celebrities that all his talk has substance. Oh does he have substance.

The first two rounds didn’t give a hint of the domination that would ensue by the flashing punches and the ability of Mayweather to literally hold off Mosley’s continuous attacks.

After a tenuous first round Mosley unleashed a terrific overhand right that forced Mayweather to hold as he seemed shocked by the punch. Mosley then attacked the body. Mayweather seemed a little hurt but weathered the second round with holding and moving.

“It’s a contact sport and you’re going to get hit. When I got hit I continued fighting,” said Mayweather who spent most of the 12 rounds right in front of big punching Mosley. “I did what the fans came here to see a toe-to-toe battle. That’s not my style and I wanted to give that kind of style I knew I could do it.”

Mosley’s only chance came in that second round, but like a speeding car, the moment was gone in an instant.

“After I landed the right hand I tried to take him out sooner than later,” Mosley said. It was the only round he won on two judges score cards.

Mayweather rallied back in the third round with a left and right combo that landed on Mosley’s head. Both had moments but Mayweather landed the cleaner shots.

The Mayweather counter right hand connected several times in the fourth round. Mosley attempted to attack but was met with some stiff jabs to the head and body. Mosley was having problems getting within range.

Mosley used a jab in the sixth round to find his distance. By going to the

head and body he stymied Mayweather’s attack. But a crisp one-two counter from Mayweather won the round for the Las Vegas fighter.

Mayweather traded big right hands with Mosley in the seventh round, then the fighter known as Money continued the assault and landed another right hand crushing blow that snapped Mosley’s head back.

“Mosley was a warrior. He has problems with fast guys,” Mayweather said.

Indeed.

The Pomona fighter paid the price for chatting with Mayweather about a foul in the eighth round and ate right hands. Mayweather again landed a jolting right hand that snapped Mosley’s head back. The Pomona fighter tried to rally but was unable to score much.

“He was too quick and I was too tight,” Mosley said. “I couldn’t adjust and he did.”

Mosley entered the ninth round on his toes with a little bounce. The change seemed to freeze Mayweather who took time to figure out new strategy. A withering right uppercut by Mayweather followed by a right hand snapped Mosley’s head back again as Mayweather tried to shove him to the ground.

The look on Mosley’s face during the rest period showed a dejected fighter.

Nothing seemed to work for Mosley in the 10th round. Though he landed a big left hook he ate several punches in return from the ultra quick Mayweather who smiled. At the end of the round Mayweather feinted and Mosley jerked back.

The last two rounds were like most of the previous fight. Mosley just couldn’t move in for his left hook or uppercuts. The only thing that seemed to work was the jab and every time he landed he was countered with big shots from Mayweather who fired punches like a laser.

Mosley had no answer for Mayweather. It was a clear cut victory for the chatty Las Vegas boxer. The judges scored it 119-109 twice and 118-110 for Mayweather. That was as one-sided as Mosley had ever loss.

“I think the long layoff hurt me. I was too tight. He was too quick and I was too tight.

I couldn’t adjust and he did,” said Mosley.

Next up for Mayweather seems to be Manny Pacquiao who is deemed the current pound for pound best fighter in the world. But Pacquiao scuttled an earlier fight in order to avoid a Olympic style blood test that is not required by Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“If Manny Pacquiao took the blood and liver test we can make it happen,” said Mayweather.

Other fights

Newly signed Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico survived a shaky first round after getting clipped from Puerto Rico’s Jose Miguel Cotto’s counter left hook, but after that he seemed to cruise for the remainder of the fight with pinpoint punching and menacing uppercuts.

The end came for Cotto at 2:59 of the ninth round after Alvarez unloaded about 18 punches. Though not all landed referee Tony Weeks ended the junior middleweight contest.

“The first round was a little scary. It was just a matter of time,” said Alvarez who was raised in Guadalajara. “Fighting in Vegas was a great atmosphere.”

Mexican former world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (39-2, 32 KOs) started quickly against fellow southpaw puncher Cornelius Lock (19-5-1, 12 KOs) and it paid off. Good work in the first three rounds by the former junior featherweight titleholder enabled him to hold off Lock’s rally in the latter rounds. The scores were 96-94 twice and 97-93 for Ponce De Leon.

“I feel like I did enough to win the fight. He wasn’t hurting me at all,” said Lock who trains at Floyd Mayweather’s gym. “I just couldn’t get off. I hurt him a couple times.”

Ponce De Leon absorbed some big blows toward the end of the fight but survived.

“He was a very difficult fighter but I did my best on all the rounds in the beginning and I stayed composed in the end,” Ponce De Leon said. “I got hurt a little in the end but I stayed composed.”

NABO junior lightweight titleholder Eloy Perez (17-0-2, 4 KOs) needed a couple of rounds to measure the jab of the much taller Gilberto Leon (23-8-2, 7 KOs) of Mexicali. Once he figured it out, he poured on the speed to offset the Mexican fighters jab to win a majority decision 95-95, 97-93, 96-94. That one score of 95-95 by Dick Houck seemed to be pretty off as Perez landed combos at will while Leon could only manage jabs.

Las Vegas welterweight Said Ouali (27-3, 19 KOs) needed only 1:47 of the first round to end his fight with Argentina’s Hector Saldivia (31-2, 24 KOs). A left hook dropped Saldivia a second time and the fight was stopped by referee Russell Mora.

Young pup Jessie Vargas (10-0, 5 KOs) was matched with Mexican veteran Arturo Morua (25-14-1, 14 KOs) a veteran of big fights but was able to use his youth and energy to land bigger punches to the head and body. Morua was crafty and never stopped punching but a long right cross found the mark and sent Morua across the ring. Referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight at 1:20 of the sixth round for a technical knockout win for Vargas.

Southpaw Luis Ramos (15-0, 8 KOs) used his jab effectively in the first round and seemed to surprise Allen Litzau (13-5, 7 KOs) with the quickness of the jab in the first round. The younger brother of Jason Litzau seemed to be attempting to gauge the speed and distance of Ramos punches but didn’t last long enough to test the Southern California fighter. In the second round a one-two dropped Litzau for the count. The lightweight fight resumed and Ramos hit Litzau with a three-punch combination that forced referee Russell Mora to halt the fight at 55 seconds of the round. Litzau was incensed and shouted his disagreement.

“I just took my time and softened him up with the jab,” said Ramos who hails from Santa Ana.

From the get-go Michigan’s Dion Savage (8-0, 5 KOs) was looking to punch Philadelphia’s Tommie Speller’s head off. Though bloodied and often on the end of some vicious blows Speller (5-4, 3 KOs) remained upright against the big punching Savage. No knockdowns were scored but all three judges handed the decision it to Savage 80-72 after the eight-round super middleweight bout.